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NEW! Take a look at our webinar to learn more about the submission requirements and see what other registrants asked about data, existing apps, testing access for Android apps, and more.

Resources and background

Located in central India, Indore has a population of 3.2 million residents and is the most populous city in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Roads and intersections tend to be crowded and chaotic, with car, taxi, motorbike, and auto-rickshaw drivers parking and driving their vehicles in unauthorized areas. In addition, a widespread disregard for traffic rules and the rights of pedestrians and bicyclists contributes to a dangerous road environment. A recent editorial in the Free Press Journal took issue with the laissez faire approach of many Indore residents to traffic safety rules. According to the Times of India, Indore is now the fourth most traffic accident-prone city in the country after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, with 444 people losing their lives in road accidents in 2015.

Coming up with solutions to an ingrained transit culture can be daunting–which is why we’ve brainstormed a few ways you might want to approach the problem. This list is by no means exhaustive–we’re excited to see your ideas and solutions!

Your Indore road safety app might:

Improve awareness of traffic rules (i.e., encourage cyclists to adhere to bicycle lanes, pedestrians to stay on sidewalks, and drivers to park in designated parking areas).

Promote safety best practices by mapping bicycle lanes, reviewing rules of the road, and highlighting local safety initiatives for cyclists and motor vehicle operators.

OpenXC is an API that offers drivers more insight into how their cars run. Using the OpenXC platform, you can access the OpenXC data and start making vehicle-aware applications, even if you don’t own a Ford or even a car.

Using the OpenXC vehicle interface, you can read vehicle data in real-time — like the steering wheel angle, GPS position, and vehicle speed. Currently, OpenXC supports over a dozen different measurements on a growing list of Ford vehicles. To get started, review the OpenXC site to get access to OpenXC-formatted vehicle data, important documentation, and OpenXC FAQs.

Please note that if you want to use OpenXC to interact directly with a Ford vehicle, you’ll need to download the closed source CAN translator firmware directly from Ford and sign a developer agreement.

Crash simulation library: This set of Android code provides crash notifications to the registered applications. You can use this code to trigger crash scenarios and have your application respond to them. Check out the Git repository to view the documentation and learn more.

SYNC AppLink is a suite of APIs that provides the capability for mobile developers to AppLink-enable their mobile applications. Developers have the ability to extend the command and control of the mobile application’s features to the vehicle occupants in a responsible, non-distracting way through the use of familiar in-vehicle Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) such as SYNC Voice Command, Steering wheel and radio buttons.

The applications run on the mobile device without the need to install any third party software on the vehicle head unit. The AppLink APIs exchange program data as well as command and control information over a known transport layer, allowing SYNC to exchange messages with an AppLink-enabled application in a pre-determined format. This technology is similar to how Bluetooth phones and digital media are integrated and used on the SYNC production platform.

Using the recently released SYNC 3 AppLink Emulator, developers can now test how their AppLink-enabled apps will look and work on a SYNC 3 interface – without access to an actual vehicle. The emulator allows a smartphone to connect to a computer – just like it would normally connect to SYNC 3. The software platform then mimics SYNC 3 by connecting to the app running from the phone. You can set certain conditions – such as vehicle speed, location, temperature and mileage – to test how your app responds to each.

If your application is intended for use while driving, the Application must conform to In-Vehicle Approval Criteria from Ford for safe and non-distracting in-vehicle interfaces. (Note that a free Ford Developer Account is required to access these criteria. You can create a free Ford Developer Account at https://developer.ford.com/register.) For more information, see the national generally accepted principles for in-vehicle interfaces.